Brothers of Aura
by Theos the Hedgehog
Summary: A chance run-in with a fellow trainer unlocks a hidden power deep within Ash's being. With new pokemon and a new friend, can Ash use this power to save his loved ones from a most surprising enemy? Rated T for occasional language. Please R&R. No Flames
1. Ambushed!

**Never fear, Theos is here!! Here's the first chapter of 'Brothers of Aura'. I'm not setting any particular schedule to get this updated, as I've got enough on my plate at the moment. But I will be updating as much as possible.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the Pokemon franchise. Although, to own Mewtwo... (drifts off into daydream...)**

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Trees.

Trees.

Clearing.

Trees.

Ash couldn't quite get over how dull walking through the Eterna Forest was. He'd have been content if the occasional wild Pokemon had picked a fight with him, but nothing poked its head from the close packed forest. Well, the occasional Weedle looked at the three travellers, before disappearing back into the undergrowth.

The glorious sunshine was all but kept from the forest floor by the thick canopy of green, but the occasional shaft of light prevented the temperature from dropping too much. Brock, in his most knowledgeable way, was in particularly high spirits as he enjoyed the walk through the forest. Dawn, her blue hair gleaming in the shafts of sunlight, couldn't help but smile at the surroundings. Pikachu sat content on Ash's shoulder, taking in every scent of the forest around him. Even Ash, despite his boredom, had to smile whenever the forest lit up.

Fate, however, has a nasty way of messing up perfect scenarios like this. And it was at that point that Fate did just that.

From nowhere, a blast of air and leaves flew directly at the group. Brock was blown off his feet, while Ash grabbed a tree with one hand, and Dawn with another. Pikachu held onto his trainer's body warmer for dear life, until the wind died down. As quickly as it had started, the hurricane of winds and leave had died down, leaving the forest in silence one more.

"What the hell was that?" asked Ash as he released Dawn. Pikachu brushed the leaves out of his tail.

"I don't know" said Brock, who had hauled himself back to his feet. "But it felt like…"

Before he could answer, a familiar laughter filled the forest. Spinning round, the trio found themselves face to face with a dark figure emerging from the trees.

"Paul?" exclaimed Dawn, the shock of seeing the trainer evident on her face. Nothing but anger registered on Ash's features.

"What's the big idea, attacking us like that?" he shouted. Paul struck him with an icy glare, which almost stopped Ash in his tracks.

"Despite your insistence that Pokemon be…_loved_ …you're still too strong a foe to have if I'm to win the Sinnoh championship" said Paul, his glare never once leaving Ash. "For that, I'm going to have to defeat you and put you out of the game." A small grin appeared on Paul's face. "For good." With that, Paul pointed forward. "Torterra! Standby!" The giant plant-type lumbered past its trainer and took up its fight pose, ready to inflict maximum damage on Ash and his friends. Ash looked defiantly at his rival, before grabbing a PokeBall from his belt.

"Chimchar! Go!" The fiery monkey Pokemon emerged from the ball, its flame tail flickering with intent. When he was who Ash was up against, Chimchar seemed to take a small step back, as he remembered the torturous training regime inflicted by Paul. Paul, for his part, just smirked.

"So you're using that pathetic excuse of a Chimchar again? You make this too easy. Torterra! Leaf Storm!" With a roar, Torterra launched a gust of wind and leaves directly at Chimchar.

"Chimchar! Dodge and use Fire Wheel!" Avoiding the Storm, Chimchar's tail flared into life as he ducked into a wheel shape. The flaming ring rushed at Torterra, striking the turtle-like Pokemon in the face. The force knocked Torterra back a few paces, much to Paul's dismay.

Hmm. Torterra! Attack with Solarbeam!" Light streamed into the tree on Torterra's shell. Within seconds, a ball of pure sunlight appeared in Torterra's mouth. The energy blasted out, striking Chimchar head on before Ash could react. The monkey Pokemon hit the dirt, rolling a few times, before coming to a standstill, knocked unconscious from the attack.

"Chimchar!" Ash rushed forward to help his fallen Pokemon, when he heard Paul's voice again, and this time it chilled him to the core.

"You're pathetic, just like Chimchar. You don't deserve to compete in the Sinnoh championship. Torterra! Hyper Beam!" The blast of pure energy erupted from Torterra's mouth, heading straight for Ash. With a shout, Ash closed his eyes and raised his arms defensively. He was acutely aware of Dawn's scream, Bock's yell for Paul to stop, and Pikachu's cry of horror. Ash waited for the attack to hit home.

The Hyper Beam shrieked towards the crouched figure of Ash, helpless and vulnerable. All of a sudden, a deep voice from within the forest shouted.

"Dark Wave!" A purple ball of energy cut off the Hyper Beam, preventing it from striking Ash. As the dust cleared, Paul looked on in disbelief. Ash cautiously opened his eyes, and was shocked to see the figure standing between Torterra and himself. The figure stood six feet tall, its pale pink fur reflecting the sunlight. A dark purple tail swayed on the ground, while two three-fingered hands were aiming at Torterra. The most prominent feature was the furrowed brows on its feline-like face. Ash looked on, his mind struggling to comprehend what his eyes were seeing. _That's…it can't be…but it is…_

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**Crikey! What an opening eh? Anyway, who is this mysterious being that has just saved Ash from annihilation, Hyper Beam stylee!! Find out next time, PokeFans!! Theos P.S. Please read and review! Cheers!!**


	2. The Newcomer

**Holy Cow! Three reviews already? That's fan(fiction)tastic! (You see what I did there? You see…oh, I crack myself up sometimes!!) Thanks for the kind words guys, its comments like those that make me think 'yeah, this story lark is totally worth it!'.**

**Anyhow, it's time to continue this bad boy, as Ash finds himself saved by none other than…**

"Mewtwo?" The word came out of Ash's mouth, but it did nothing to clear the fog forming in his mind. Here was one of the most powerful Pokemon he'd ever come across, one whose battle with Mew had temporarily killed the young Pallet trainer, and now the Genetic Pokemon was saving him?

"Pikapi?" Pikachu ran up to his trainer, obviously worried. Ash hauled himself up, Pikachu atop his shoulder.

"I'm fine, Pikachu. Just a little…"

…_Surprised? _ Ash, Brock, Dawn and Paul all took a step back. The anthropomorphic feline closed its eyes, as if contemplating what to say, or think, next.

_I owed you a favour, Ash Ketchum. You helped me to see the light, to see that not all humans are the scum that created me._ He turned to Paul. _You, on the other hand, do nothing to remove my previous estimation of mankind. _ Defiant as ever, Paul stepped up to the Genetic Pokemon.

"Like I'm scared of some overgrown science project." He sneered, his purple hair waving in a sudden breeze. Dawn wrapped her arms around herself.

"Is it just me, or did it suddenly get a lot colder?" she wondered out loud. Brock nodded

"It's certainly come down a few degrees very quickly" he said, noticing his breath turning to vapour in the cold air. Paul looked around him. Frost was suddenly appearing on the trees, the leaves seemingly frozen in place. The Sinnoh trainer swung back to Mewtwo.

"Is this one of your pathetic psycho tricks, hmm? To try and freeze your opposition?"

"He doesn't need to…" The sudden interruption took the entire group, bar Mewtwo, by surprise. Ash looked left and right, unable to see where the voice had come from. It was Dawn who saw it first. She pointed up to the sky.

"Look!" Three pairs of human eyes (and a Pikachu) all went skywards, as a magnificent blue bird flew overhead. Its long tail feathers twinkled like icicles in the late morning sun, every flap of its wings seemed to send a shower of snowflakes towards the ground. Amazingly, the blue bird swooped into the clearing, landing behind Ash and Pikachu.

"Pipi Pikachu?" inquired the electric-type. Ash shook his head.

"I know what it looks like, buddy, but the chances of it actually being…"

"Articuno, return." The Ice/Flying-type disappeared in a flash of red energy, revealing a young man stood in the clearing. Ash took in the new guy.

His trainers were white with red trim, above which sat black jeans. An open black shirt revealed a white tee-shirt underneath. His hands were covered in white fingerless-gloves, each one having a square of black on the back and a gold band around each wrist. His black hair hung down to his shoulders, in which five read streaks were visible. As he walked towards the group, Ash saw his eyes were a piercing blue. Ash couldn't help but gulp. He didn't know who this guy was, but he got the feeling that he wasn't one to mess with.

The newcomer stepped up to Ash.

"Ash Ketchum?" Ash started, and then nodded slowly.

"That's me." The newcomer flashed a smile and extended his right hand.

"Shane McKraken. It's a pleasure to finally put a face to the name." Ash looked confused. Shane just laughed. "What, you didn't know that Mewtwo keeps going on and on about you? You're like his saviour or something." Brock stepped in.

"Wait a minute. Are you saying that you…and Mewtwo…you're his…"

"Trainer" finished Shane. The forest went silent, as mouths dropped. Dawn was the first to shake off the stupor.

"You mean, you train…him ?", pointing towards the psychic feline, who seemed to have gone into a state of meditation. Shane nodded, noticing the attractive blunette for the first time. He was about to walk over when a gloved hand planted itself firmly on his chest. Ash's voice, whispered, hoarse and filled with malice, accompanied the hand.

"Touch her, and I'll have Pikachu fry your ass." Shane blinked, and then stepped back. His smile never faltered, and his voice gave no hint of anger at the Pallet youth.

"Fair game, pal. Can't hate a guy for trying. I'm not one to try and snatch another man's woman" Ash now blinked, surprised that Shane wasn't pushing against his threat. The thought of Dawn being 'his woman' brought an instant red tinge to his cheeks, a reaction that no-one bar Shane n oticed. Before Shane could respond, another voice filled the air.

"HEY!" The yell surprised the newcomer and the travellers, as Paul dragged the attention back to himself. "If you're the bozo in charge of the science-project-gone-wrong over here, then it's you that I need to challenge. What do you say, three on three?" Shane's cerulean eyes seemed to flash at the thought of a Pokemon battle, especially against someone who obviously thought very highly of themselves.

"You're on, Paul, was it? But I'll do you a favour. I won't use Mewtwo." A cocky grin appeared on the trainer's face. "I wouldn't want to wipe the forest floor with you using just one Pokemon. Mewtwo, take a break." Holding out a black and red PokeBall, Mewtwo turned into red energy before zapping into the sphere. Paul's face turned bright red, anger at being mocked flaring through him.

"That's it, stripes. You're going down."

Shane and Paul stood across from each other, Brock standing in the middle of the clearing between them, while Ash, Dawn and Pikachu stood behind Shane. Ash warily kept his eye on Shane. _I don't know what it is, but there's something…strange about him. Something familiar, yet completely foreign…I don't trust him…but anyone who takes on Paul is a temporary ally at least…_

"Torterra, standby!" Paul started with his strongest, his starter Pokemon. A self-satisfied grin crept onto his lips as the huge turtle-like beast appeared on the battlefield. "Let's see what you got!" Shane nodded as he took another black and red orb from his belt.

"I give you my starter. Gengar! Let's go!" A flash of light revealed a round, purple humanoid creature. Two spikes adorned its head, with smaller spikes running down its back into a short tail. The slightly psychotic grin of the Ghost/Poison type made Dawn grab onto Ash's arm, earning another blush from the trainer, unnoticed by anyone else. The sight of Gengar made Paul's brows knit together in concern.

"How can that be your starter Pokemon?" he queried, not trusting the black-and-red haired youth one bit. Shane just shrugged.

"Hey, when you live in Lavender Town, there aren't a great deal of pokemon to start with" he said in monotone, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"As acting judge for this Pokemon battle, I declare this a three-on-three match" called out Brock. Neither trainer was paying attention, as Shane and Paul glared at each other, ready to do battle.

**Oh right! Battle time! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know you're probably wondering what Mewtwo is doing with a trainer. All will be explained in the near future. For now, prepare for what should be a hell of a battle! **

**On a seperate note for any Sonic the Hedgehog fans. Starter for 10: Which StH character does Shane's appearance remind you of? If you're not sure, take a look at my profile pic!**

**That's all for now folks. Catch you later. Theos**


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